Operation FIGHTER
by The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i
Summary: Four Is Getting Heavily Ticked, Enemies Realise. Rewrite of the fanfic BIRTHDAYS, by OmegaRed9, with a divergence on chapter 11.
1. Prologue

(…unWARP!)

Good evening.

PROLOGUE

On August 28, 2005, Omega-Red9 posted on this server the KND fanfic "Birthdays". After going over it, I began to wonder what would have happened if things had gone a bit differently. I'm more or less re-doing his fanfic, but without any particular point of view, and I'm also branching out a bit starting from the fight between Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5. Also, Numbuh 362 is Supreme Commander here, as she rightfully should be, while in his fanfic the Supreme Commander is a boy. Like his fanfic, I'll be numbering the chapters starting from 9, so don't get too weirded out by that. It is recommended that the fanfic "Birthdays" be read before this one.

"Never make fun of the little guy. You never know if his temper is about to blow." — The J.A.M.

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Kids Next Door Mission

Operation:

F.I.G.H.T.E.R.

Four

Is

Getting

Heavily

Ticked,

Enemies

Realise

Writing Operative: The J.A.M. (but please call me J.A.M.)

_To all Kids, Teens, and Adults who are Next Door. _


	2. Chapter 9 RAGE

PART 9 — RAGE

"Uh! Oi 'ate birthdoys." A heavy hand slammed the off button of the alarm clock, almost shattering the old device. And it could do that, too, despite it being rather small, as it belonged to a boy who had just turned nine today.

Wallaby Beetles crawled off his bed, grumbling to himself. Perhaps it was the condition of his dilapidated bedroom, or of his dilapidated house, or the fact that he lived right under a high-tension electric tower, but he hated birthdays with all his heart. Or maybe it was because when he turned 5 he had the worst birthday party his pathetic parents could throw, if it in fact could be CALLED a "party".

He didn't want to dwell on what had happened before, but the bright side of that last birthday party was that it was what made him decide to join the Kids Next Door.

Still, even as Operative Numbuh 4, he didn't like birthdays. It turned out that on his 13th birthday all his memories of him in the Kids Next Door would be erased. He hoped that his never actually mentioning his birthday would help him be decommissioned quietly and without fuss, but his lack of deep intelligence made him forget that all his data was in the KND computers and that all of his superiors, and consequently, everyone in his sector, Sector V, knew when his birthday was, even if today he only turned 9.

He got dressed in his typical jeans and orange "hoodie" shirt, and his white sneakers that never seemed to get dirty; thanks to a spray that the Kids Next Door invented that would keep them clean and keep his parents from getting suspicious about where he'd been.

Normally he slept in the Sector V base, an enormous treehouse on top of an enormous tree on another part of town, and he did so whenever he was sure that his parents wouldn't notice his absence (it was sad how many parents never did), but on this occasion, being his birthday, it was best not to raise suspicions and so he slept in his house. Still, having the pathetic parents he did, he stepped out without anyone noticing.

He hurried to the treehouse, hoping he wouldn't be late for the morning briefing by his commander, Nigel Uno, a.k.a. Numbuh 1—

—when he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a gigantic bird on the sidewalk in front of him. The menacing look on its face was startling and Wally just stared into its eyes. The brown feathers fluttered and that made him jump back, surprising himself. He was never afraid of birds before, but this one seemed different. Its wingspan must have been longer than a car was long. The beak was curved and looked like a hook, and he could just imagine what would happen if it flew at him and tried to poke his eyes—

At that thought, the courage and anger he was known for quickly returned to him, and he decided to take a step forward—

—until he noticed the razor sharp talons it was standing on. He could also see that it was clutching something in its claws. Edging closer and closer to the bird, he saw that it was a small stuffed doll. It looked like it used to be something that Kuki Sanban, a.k.a. Numbuh 3, would play with…

There, a faint smile came to my face as he thought of her—

Suddenly, the bird took off; its huge wings creating a gust of wind strong enough for him to feel it and snap him out of his reverie. He had never seen anything so amazing as that creature taking off into the sky, and as it did, it dropped the small doll, probably realising that it wasn't food.

Wally shrugged and continued toward the treehouse. Three blocks later, however, he saw that same bird again just standing in the road. He stopped to look at it, and the bird stared right back as if it were trying to tell him something.

Numbuh 4 shook his head, realising that it all seemed stupid, despite it being what it looked like—

BAM!

Out of nowhere, a truck drove by and smashed the bird, right in the middle of the road. Odd, that giant bird of prey must have been able to see AND hear the truck coming…

So why didn't it move?

Not having much intelligence meant he didn't ponder on that too long, so instead he hurried to the treehouse. He was late NOW and he could very much expect Nigel to give him a good scolding—

—the treehouse was dead quiet.

Even just walking up to the house that the tree was planted in, he would normally be able to hear the hum of generators, power tools, music, or television, but not today. Huffing, he realised that perhaps Numbuh 1 had checked his file and found out that today was his birthday, so everyone was waiting for him to arrive and then jump out and scream "SURPRISE!" at him.

Lucky for him, though, when he walked into the briefing room, there was no one there. He was about to sigh with relief when he realised that there was something weird going on because he was the first one to arrive, when normally at least one operative slept in the treehouse overnight.

Wally went to the main computer and was about to call the others when he noticed that the main screen had a small message blinking on the bottom right corner.

**URGENT**

"Urgent"? Then why had no one replied to it? He pressed a few buttons on the console to open the message and suddenly jumped back when Numbuh 1's face appeared on the screen.

Wally stiffened when he saw him. Nigel's red sweater was tattered and his glasses were half off his face.

"Numbuh——r!—ate night miss———out you——————bein—————ture———trap!—Get—————trap!———"

Then, static.

And perhaps it was by mere chance, or maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a very faint ghostly image of Numbuh 3, behind Numbuh 1, against a wall, unconscious—

It took him less than a minute to trace the message, get the coordinates, board a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., and blast off toward the coordinates. And with him gunning the throttle, it didn't take him long to arrive at the location where Numbuh 1's transmission had come from. Numbuh 4 gasped when he saw a crumbling and smouldering building on his approach—

_Kuki is in there…_

He pushed the throttle.

_Kuki is TRAPPED in there…_

The computer warned him that there were five people on that floor, armed, but that didn't faze him one bit. Easing up on the throttle, he pressed a few buttons and the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was now on autopilot. Jumping out of his seat, he braced for impact right next to the hatch. Moments later, the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. crashed through the dilapidated roof and slammed into the floor of the topmost story. As that happened, the main hatch opened and Numbuh 4 jumped out with a defiant scream.

Normally he would say something like, "Who wonts some?" or "It's 'bout toime t'give out some butt-whoop!" but Kuki's image was still embedded in his brain, so all he did was knock out the boy he landed in front of with one swift uppercut. Immediately, the other four boys charged at him at the same time. Almost mechanically, he jumped on the end of a concrete beam, which had another concrete beam lying on its other end, so as he fell, he catapulted the concrete beam on to the faces of his attackers, knocking them out. At once, Wally charged to the nearest door, jumped, and kicked it down. Another boy was waiting for him there, but Wally was running so fast that an uppercut was enough to knock out his opponent. As he continued running down the long hall, others noticed how no one, and nothing, was slowing him down, so they began firing lasers at him.

_Bad move on their part, _he thought, as the lasers lit the dark hall so he was now able to pinpoint their locations, and he jumped from one wall to another, almost like a frog, and one by one he smashed his foot on their heads.

_Oi 'ave t'elp Kuki…_ he thought.

Punch, another one fell.

Kick, another one fell.

Reverse elbow, another one fell.

Jump, grab, and body slam, two more fell.

Finally, he reached the last door, and with a mighty jump, he kicked it down, and hollered, pale-fisted, with the angriest voice he had ever mustered—

"SURPRISE!"

**_"WHARE'S KUKI? OI SWEAR IF YEW DON'T TOLL ME OI'LL—"_**

He stopped, finally, huffing, looking at what seemed to be a birthday party in a large room, filled with lots of kids, including all his fellow operatives of Sector V.

"I'm right here, silly," said a sweet Japanese-accented voice on his right. "What are you all worked up for? It's just a birthday party—"

Wally grabbed Kuki and hugged her as tight as he could. "Oi was s'worried about yew."

She started to blush and said somewhat strained, "You don't have to worry about me Wally, but thank you—and—you're sorta crushing me, silly—"

"Sorreh," he blushed as well, easing up his grip.

Numbuh 1 walked up to him, looking at his palmtop computer, "Numbuh 4, the treehouse logs say that you barely left the treehouse _ten minutes ago_. You must have been booking to get here that fast."

Slowly, the small rational segment in Wally's brain came on line. Seeing that this was a party, _his party_, full of kids, then—

"Woit a minute, Numbuh 1, who worr all those payple thet Oi beat up juss new?"

As if on cue, they started filing into the room one by one, many of them groaning in pain. Now that Numbuh 4 wasn't in a blind rage, he saw that they weren't adults, or teenagers, or enemies of any sort, but fellow Kids Next Door operatives instead! They all looked like they needed to file right into sickbay, too, with all their bloody bruises and injured limbs, and a few needed help walking. And they kept filing in, more, and more, until Wally lost count, feeling somewhat surprised, sheepish, and stunned.

Had he actually done that all by himself?

A groan was heard under the downed door, and other kids ran to pick it up, revealing another kid lying under it, sporting a bloody nose.

Numbuh 5 walked up to me and said, "Numbuh 4, you must have really torn through all of these girls and guys if you flew here and made it through all the TRAINED operatives in ten minutes. I knew that you were a good fighter, but I didn't know that you were THAT good."

"Yeah," Numbuh 2 chimed in, "You may even be better then Numbuh 5 here, and she's supposed to be the best fighter in all the Kids Next Door."

Wally shook his head and finally released Kuki, "B—but—whoi did ya 'ave me beat up awl these operatives? Arr y'goys nuts or somethin'?"

At that, Numbuh 86 limped inside and said in her shrill Irish drawl, "Well y'weren't suppoos'd t'mekk it through'em; we were suppoos'd t'kepture ye n'tie ye up wit th'others. Ah cain't believe how hard ye hit, Wolley." She carefully took off her now-dented colander-helmet and rubbed gently on a bump on her head. "T'is a good thin' that yer n'our seid…euch," she winced.

Numbuh 4 was still quite steamed that they would do something like this to him, but he calmed down when he realised that EVERYONE got a little punishment, including the ever-annoying Chief Decommissioning Officer Francine Fullbright, a.k.a. Numbuh 86.

Moreover, he was happy that everyone in his sector was okay, but he was even happier that _Kuki_ was okay.

Still, he hated birthdays.

Though he didn't hate what the birthday included, namely, all his presents and all the ice cream and cake he could eat, and he ate PLENTY of it.

There was one minor interruption, unfortunately. As the party was progressing, the boy's bathroom door was suddenly kicked open by one of the Kids Next Door's most pathetic enemies: The Toilenator.

"All right, kiddies! This time, there's no escap—"

"Yeh, yeh, we 'eard et awl befower," said Numbuh 4, stepping up to him, eating a piece of cake. "Now, lissn' moit, Oi'm not 'avin' a groit doy roight new, so Oi'm given' yew one chance t'go flush yerself outta 'ere befower Oi start kicken' yer butt!"

The adult looked down at the child, then at the other children, and laughed, "Oh, please! Do I look like some WIMP that you have to send your SHORTEST, STUBBIEST, DUMBEST, MOST PATHETIC kid in ALL of the Kids Next Door to THREATEN ME?" Looking around some more, he noticed that a few kids were still receiving medical attention from the nurses, "What, did Father stop by and give you some trouble and Shorty here was the only one who didn't get hurt? Well, then, this should make MY job a lot eas—"

A sudden crack of his right leg shut him up quite swiftly.

Wally stepped aside to let him fall over, swallowed his last piece of cake, and proceeded to beat the whey out of the Toilenator.

And since Wally was still feeling a trifle upset about the trick that the others pulled on him earlier, he decided to vent his frustrations on the adult. As he did, the other kids decided to watch and began cheering him as if they were watching a wrestling match or something similar. Wally, naturally, didn't mind, and as he continued to kick and punch at the squirming adult on the floor, he felt elated as they cheered for him—

"Num-buh four! Num-buh four!"

—as if he were a superhero.

"Go, Wally!" and it seemed that Kuki's cheers elated him most of all. He put more effort into his venting and cracked a few more ribs and limbs, and the imp of an adult became more and more helpless. Finally, Wally stood behind the Toilenator and pulled him into a chokehold, thinking about what his superhero name would be, if he were indeed one. Black Hawk? Red Falcon? The Tasmanian Devil? He chuckled at the last one—

"What—are you—laughing at———stupid?" groaned the adult in his grasp.

"Yer styupid fois." And with that, he passed out from the chokehold. Numbuh 4 proceeded to cuff him and then dragged him to a corner so that the guards could take him to the Arctic prison.

With a sigh, he straightened his orange hoodie, shook his blonde hair back into its bowl cut, and went to get more cake, amid the cheers and comments of how strong and fast he was—

"You were great, Wally!" but there was something about being cheered on by Numbuh 3 that just seemed to send him to the clouds.

"Uhm—thank yew—thanks av'ryone—" She grabbed him tightly by the arm and the two went for more cake. As they did, Numbuh 5, a.k.a. Abigail Lincoln, best female fighter of the Kids Next Door, just stared at him under the brim of her red cap. After a while, Numbuh 4 noticed that, so as he was stuffing cake down his mouth, he walked up to her and asked, "Ess this wot yew 'ave t'put up with awl th'toime?"

She adjusted her cap to look at him in the eye, and replied in her typical third person jive, "Not really, but then again, Numbuh 5's startin' to wonder if you're as good a fighter as her. One day we'll have to spar to find out."

Spar? Together?

Numbuh 4 normally only sparred with the robots that Numbuh 2 designed for him, and the last time he sparred with a non-enemy, that is, a fellow Kids Next Door operative, was back when he was in boot camp at the Arctic Base.

"Yeh, wotevah…" he mumbled. Numbuh 5 didn't insist on her proposal, so Wally dismissed it and didn't think about it again.

The rest of the party continued without a hitch, and as the day wore on, the kids began leaving, and a few required medical escorts back to their bases. Kuki suggested to Fanny to also have a medical escort, but the stubborn Irish lass insisted that she did NOT need an escort, but instead would escort the Toilenator to the Arctic Base AND she herself would return alone to the Moon Base and treat her own injuries, given that she used to be the Chief Medical Officer for Sector W.

Sector V shrugged and let her be.

That evening, at the Sector V Treehouse, Wally walked out to sit on the highest roof to watch the sunset. He wanted to watch it alone, but two minutes later, Kuki walked out to join him. If it had been anyone else, even the others of Sector V, he would have said a thing or two to them, but there was something about Kuki that just GOT to him so deeply, so he accepted her presence and both enjoyed the sunset.

Numbuh 3, despite her bubbly and talkative self, didn't say a word to him, didn't bounce around, or even offer him a Rainbow Monkey™ plush toy.

Instead, she just sat down next to Numbuh 4, gently put her arms around him, and laid her head on his shoulder.

He wasn't sure what drove him to do it, but he, too, put his strong arms around her, and the two watched as the sun sank down the horizon on Wally's 9th birthday.

Overall, it had been pretty much a good day, as far as birthdays go, not too disappointing, compared to the birthdays he had before he joined the Kids Next Door. Twenty minutes later, the Japanese and the Australian walked hand-in-hand to their respective houses.

Wally dropped her off at her house, and before she went inside, she gave him a big hug and bounced inside. The Aussie stood dumbstruck for a moment before coming to his sense, and he headed off towards the high-tension towers, where his house was.

As he thought about this day, he realised that it had been a good birthday after all, not a bad one at all. Perhaps he would have to give more thought on how he felt about them.

But still, there was that one dark cloud in his future.

He turned 9 today, which was fine, but in four more years, he would be decommissioned, and everything that happened before would be forgotten. Despite all the fun he would have, that was ALWAYS the worst part about birthdays that always lingered in the back of his—

THUD!

He tripped over an untied shoelace.

He hated birthdays. There was no doubt about it.

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED


	3. Chapter 10 You call this a SPAR?

TRANSMISSION RESTORED

PART 10 — YOU CALL THIS A SPAR?

ONE YEAR LATER…

Wally wasn't sure if he had a dilemma, an obsession, or a simple "problem" with his mind. Not that he was losing it, or even going crazy, but he seemed to be losing control over what he normally thought. Whatever he began to think about, whether it was fighting, sparring, robots, his role in the Kids Next Door, or the KND in general, everything led right to Kuki Sanban, Numbuh 3. Even when he talked to Kuki, his mind seemed to go out of control.

He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, and even now, his tenth birthday, Kuki just seemed to fill his mind. He couldn't stop imagining her laughter dancing along the air like a butterfly spreading its wings lightly caressing his ears—

Was he falling in love with her?

It wasn't as if her filling his thoughts was hindering him, in fact, he almost hated to admit that he LIKED it—

"Hey, Numbuh 4…" Numbuh 5, Abigail Lincoln, interrupted his thoughts. Wally looked up at her and noticed that her tone of voice indicated that she was up to something. "Numbuh 5 remembers last year. On your last birthday, you showed Numbuh 5 how strong of a fighter you were. And now that Numbuh 5's trained really hard for a whole year, she thinks that she's finally ready to face off against you."

So, she remembered those remarks after all.

Smiling on the inside while keeping his stone-cold poker face, he looked at the African-American. The true desire of any warrior such is to face off against an opponent of great strength, and if Wally knew anything it was that Numbuh 5 could hold her own in a fight, in fact, she even defeated her sister Cree, ex-Numbuh 11, who had betrayed the Kids Next Door several years ago and was now a Teen Ninja. Numbuh 4 looked at her straight in the eye and said, "Foine. We kin dew this 'n moi rin'."

The two warriors walked side by side toward Wally's room, where his boxing ring/bed was.

"Numbuh 5 hopes you don't mind, but she's invited others to provide an audience."

Audience?

"Oi don't care; thoy kin wotch if thoy want—"

He almost froze when he heard voices coming from his room.

GIRL voices.

Growling, he swung the door open—

The rest of Sector V was inside, along with—

"WOT ARE AWL THESE CRUDDY GOIRLS DOIN'N MOI ROOM!"

Female faces and hair ornaments surrounded the ring. Littered through the audience were signs that read "GO ABBY!" and "NUMBUH 5!", and some that just had "5". Several cameras were also set up around the ring, and Wally KNEW that this was going to be broadcast to every Kids Next Door treehouse on the planet, including the Moonbase.

"WOT IS AWL THIS, ABBEY!" he demanded to know.

She chuckled, "Numbuh 5 knows you're good when you fight when you THINK someone's in trouble. That's called 'fightin' under pressure'. But now Numbuh 5 is goin' to see if you can fight under a DIFFERENT kind of pressure. Do you really think you can whip Numbuh 5 with ALL of the Kids Next Door watchin', AND with all these girls rootin' fo' her? Not to mention—" she pulled close a certain operative, "Numbuh 60 here was kind enough to sharpen Numbuh 5's trainin' this past year." She then pushed her cap up a bit and glared down at Wally, "Numbuh 5 may be your fellow team member, and a close friend, but NO ONE is goin' to take her title of Best Fighter from her sittin' down."

Numbuh 4 was about to say something that would make a sailor blush, but then they heard,

"Hello, everybody, and a happy birthday to Numbuh 4, under rather unusual circumstances. We're here at the Sector V Treehouse, and in his room where he has his own boxing ring, where his fellow operative Numbuh 5 has challenged him to a free-for-all fight. I'm Nick The Reporter."

"And I'm Numbuh 10. This promises to be the most watched event in Kids Next Door history, after the Delightful Children From Down The Lane hijacked the airwaves to broadcast their eating of their birthday cake, which, as they found out later, had been covered with bird poop."

"And since that disgusting display of a lack of taste buds and a sense of smell, all of the Kids Next Door has tuned in to watch Wallaby Beatles, Numbuh 4, Australian juggernaut, try to hold his own against Abigail Lincoln, Numbuh 5, French legionnaire. Above in the improvised balcony you can see our Supreme Commander, Numbuh 362, flanked by all of our Global Command, including Decommissioning Officer Numbuh 86 and several sector leaders as well—"

"WOT? 362 is here?"

"So, Wally, do you think you can fight under THIS kind of pressure?" asked Abby. The two glared at each other for a moment, but Abby didn't give Wally a chance to reply. Numbuh 60 took her aside to discuss something, and as they did, someone else showed up.

"Guten Tag, Vallaby." Numbuh 4 whirled to see—

"'Oiney!"

_"HEINRICH VON MARZIPAN!"_ the German chubby boy growled back.

"'Ow did yew get en 'eyer?" demanded the Aussie.

"Ach, little Vally, it is a minorr arrangement done by ze Arrctic Base." He held up his hands to show they were cuffed. "I came to see you und Abby beat ze whey out of each odder." Wally was now getting into a rage. EVERYONE knew about this fight except HIM? "Und now, Vally, I know you'rre busy, but I vant to tell you a few zings." The boy adjusted his monocle and continued, "Ve may be enemies, and I may hate you all, but given zat you two arr varriorrs, und zat yourr'e going to beat up Abby—" He leaned down a bit, "I vish I could be you rright now." He straightened up again, and now a very stunned Aussie stood in front of him. The German nodded to someone, and two Kids Next Door guards stepped up, the 44 Twins, to him to escort him inside. "Now, blast zat's girrl's teeth out forr me! Blitzkrieg!" he barked.

Blast her teeth out?

But…this was just going go be a friendly spar…wasn't it?

Growling, he entered his room, and almost jumped when every single girl started booing at him.

Gritting his teeth and squeezing his fists, he marched toward the ring.

Numbuh 10 narrated, "Numbuh 4 is making his way toward the ring—"

"Whoa! Listen to this crowd! They really hate Numbuh 4! Or—they just hate boys," added Nick.

"Still, Wally's face is absolutely like stone, and the booing girls don't seem to bother him one bit—well, except for a few obscene gestures he's doing with his hand."

"But even so, Numbuh 4 has a look tonight that can burn through lead."

Wally climbed up to the ring, amid a volley of crumpled papers. He'd show these cruddy girls a thing or two.

Suddenly, the girls stopped booing and began yelling with a very shrill tone, and then chanted, "NUM-BUH 5! NUM-BUH 5! ABBY—ABBY—ABBY!"

Numbuh 5 slowly walked toward the ring, her gait displaying nothing but coolness, her gaze hidden under her cap, but she was definitely headed toward Numbuh 4.

"Now we have the best fighter of the Kids Next Door, Numbuh 5, a girl with the entire organization in her corner—or at least half of it," said Numbuh 10.

"Her cap doesn't let us see her eyes, but she seems to be ignoring the crowd."

"The French-African-American steps up to the ring and salutes our Supreme Commander, and Numbuh 4 suddenly remembers to do so as well."

"And now, their Sector leader, Numbuh 1, enters the ring and calls the two to the centre…"

Abby and Wally looked at Nigel, who had his arms crossed. "Listen you two, normally I wouldn't approve of this, and I would prefer that you'd kick some adult butt rather than each others', but I understand that you're fighters and you more or less HAVE to do this. So—just keep in mind that you two are FRIENDS and TEAMMATES, so try not to hurt each other TOO much." He sighed. "Good luck."

Numbuh 1 walked away, but Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5 looked at each other for a long moment, holding their fists against each other.

"It's an unbelievable sight to see. They're toe-to-toe, and Abby is a whole head and shoulders taller than Wally. Could this be a case of David and Goliath?" asked Nick.

"Numbuh 5 knows Numbuh 1 is right, but she's gotta tell you somethin', Numbuh 4."

"Wot?"

"She's gotta kick your butt." She suddenly shoved his fists down to make her point. Wally almost felt scared for a moment as he realised that she was not going to hold back.

So be it. Neither would he.

The two walked back to their corners; Numbuh 60, Numbuh 2, and Numbuh 1 were with Abby; and Numbuh 3 and Tommy Gilligan (Numbuh 2's younger brother) were with Wally, along with—

"Ach, you know vat I said back zere about vanting to be you?" asked Heinrich, stepping up so Wally could hear him.

"Wot about it?"

The German boy looked at how the crowd kept cheering for Abby, and replied, "Forget it."

"Uh, woteva," replied Numbuh 4, suddenly not so confident, as a bell rang.

"There's the opening round bell. Numbuh 5 comes into the centre of the ring," said Numbuh 10.

"Are you ready, Numbuh 4?" she asked.

With a grunt, Wally stomped toward the centre of the ring, balling his fists.

"Numbuh 5 tries to cross kick to the back of his head, barely blocked by Numbuh 4," said Nick.

Wally was a little surprised that Abby would use such an underhanded technique, but as he thought about it he realised he had to expect the unexpected when it came to her. Still, it was difficult for him to concentrate with a bazillion girls in his room screaming "NUM-BUH 5! NUM-BUH 5! ABBY—ABBY—ABBY!"

Or, were they ALL yelling that?

He thought he could hear someone cheering for him among the chaos, and that was when he looked back at his corner and saw Numbuh 3 holding up a "GO WALLY!" sign, smiling and waving at—

He realised too late he had stopped looking at Abby—

"A tremendous foot sweep by Numbuh 5!" yelled Numbuh 10.

"But Numbuh 4 arcs into a handspring, flips over and lands on his feet! And now he charges at Numbuh 5—he feints an elbow punch and instead kicks her almost back to her corner!"

Wally was pulling his punches and kicks. Despite what he felt about fighting, and even fighting girls, he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to actually hurt someone he considered a friend—

"Numbuh 5 suddenly whips herself up and dives at Numbuh 4!" said the boy commentator.

"And Wally dodges her with ease and—he grabs her leg and twists her into a Reverse Figure Four! A signature move honouring his numbuh!"

Wally turned sideways, grabbed her other leg, and fell to the mat, pinning her legs with his own, and pinning her back to the mat. Abby didn't stay lying down like an actress/WCW wrestler: she squirmed and bucked, trying to break her friend's hold.

"You watch a lot of wrestlin' shows, don't you?" she asked him.

"Thoy taught meh everythin' Oi know."

"The crowd is stunned at the sudden shift, as it appears that Numbuh 4 has pinned down Numbuh 5 with hardly a problem!"

"'Hardly' is correct, Nick. Despite being pinned, Numbuh 5 isn't showing any signs of giving up, and this crowd isn't giving any signs of abandoning their fan, either—whoa! She arched herself and nearly kicked Numbuh 4 to the ropes!"

"He's a lot stronger than he looks, though."

The two returned to the centre of the ring, jabbing at each other for a moment, and suddenly Numbuh 4 smashed his head on her stomach, sending her to the mat, pinning her again a moment later. Wally was debating on releasing her and just ending this cruddy "spar", but the fact that she kept arching to prevent her shoulders from staying put was filling him with indecision. Should he let her tire herself out? Increase his hold so she'd give up, but risk a serious injury on her part? Call on Numbuh 1 and have him—

"She whips herself upright and sends Numbuh 4 to the ropes again!" shouted Nick.

"Not to mention she stirs up even more cheering from the crowd! Numbuh 4 bounces right back, however, and they now face each other one more time!"

They stared down at each other for ten seconds, and lunged at each other again, in a mix of judo and kickboxing. Since Wally had shorter arms and legs, he could give faster punches and kicks, though he thought that Abby could move faster than she was letting on. Either the "Best Fighter" of the Kids Next Door was also pulling her punches, annoying him to no end, or—

"Hey, Numbuh 5, when are yew gonna stop ployin' aroun'n get sorious? This s'gettin' bor—"

"A sliding kick in the face sends Numbuh 4 to the ropes and he nearly falls out of the ring!" screamed Numbuh 10.

"And she's not done yet! She backs Numbuh 4 to a corner and starts raining jabs on him!"

"Get outta there!" yelled Kuki.

"He's blocking as best as he can, but Numbuh 5 is lightning fast! He can't stay on balance—" said Nick.

"And he uses that to shove both of them out of the corner! Now Numbuh 4 tries to chop away at her midsection, trying to jab and kick—"

Wally backed off for a moment, and looked at his opponent.

"And Numbuh 5 just smiled at him! Her blocks are also lightning fast!"

Abby wasn't pulling back anything. She wanted to finish him off now before he got over his initial confusion. She swung kicks at his legs, trying to knock him down, but he was sturdier than he looked. Still, she had him cornered again.

"Numbuh 4 is in serious trouble! They might have to stop this one before somebody gets killed!" said Nick.

Numbuh 10 almost screamed, "Oh dear! Numbuh 4 is bleeding!"

"Whatever he told her, he woke the sleeping giant, and now he's paying the price—whoa! A solid hand from Numbuh 5 sends Numbuh 4 all the way across the ring!"

"And he's down!"

Wally, now furious, whipped himself up again, only to be shoved to the corner again.

"Numbuh 5 is continuing to pound Numbuh 4! She just will not let him out of that corner! He's just trying to get through this first round!" said Numbuh 10.

At that moment, the bell rang. Wally didn't appear to hear it, as he continued charging at Abby—

"Now the girl just grabbed his hoodie and threw Numbuh 4 into his own corner like a rag doll!" gasped Nick.

"ARE YOU DEAF, STUPID?" screamed Numbuh 5. Huffing, and with rage in his eyes, he backed off.

Nick continued, "A tough first three minutes for Wally, he's not only fighting what appears to be an invincible opponent, he's also fighting a very hostile crowd AND Numbuh 362 and Global Command looking on."

Numbuh 86 crossed her arms, smiling smugly. At last, a boy was on the receiving end.

Kuki jumped up next to the blonde in the corner. "Wally? What's going on? Is Abby too much for you?"

"Oi—Oi see three of 'er out thar!" he growled, trying to make the room stop spinning.

"Oh. Well, hit the one in the middle, silly," she replied, being her bubbly self.

"Ja! Hit ze one in the middle!" Both looked at Heinrich for a moment before suddenly realising he was right.

As Abby sat in her corner, Numbuh 60 stepped up and hissed at her, "You're not doing as you're told! The Aussie is small and wea—uh—stubby."

"…stubby…" she repeated. Meaning, he didn't have the reach she had. She had the advantage.

The bell rang again, and Numbuh 10 continued, "There's the bell for round two, and it's been a one-sided fight so far."

"I'll say. It will take more than luck for Numbuh 4 to survive this round. He's practically been hit with bombs!"

"He's trying to stay in the middle of the ring against the tall girl, though it doesn't seem to be working."

Abby connected a kick to his side. He tried a backhand, but she ducked, grabbed his shirt, and flipped him over for a body slam.

"WALLY!" yelled Numbuh 3.

Still, he scrambled to stand again, only to meet Abby's foot, which sent him down again.

Nick shouted, "Numbuh 4 goes down again—!"

"But bounces right back up! It looks like he's made of rubber!"

"He's getting killed out there!" whined Tommy.

"Numbuh 4 has taken Numbuh 5's best blows so far. He's cut and bleeding, but he's on his feet—"

"—and on the run," added Numbuh 10.

Wally had enough fooling around. Rage welled within him and now he was going to show her what he was made of.

"Blitzkrieg!"

He wasn't sure what Heinrich meant by that, but still, he ran toward her, and slid down for a kick. However, instead of sliding on his other foot, he dropped to the mat and slid on his rear.

Numbuh 5 didn't see it coming and he connected, almost knocking her ankles out of joint, and she fell to the mat. Wally continued moving by his momentum, and he smashed a fist on Abby's face.

The two rolled away from each other, but Abby felt something falling from her nose. She brought her hand to her face, and—

The entire audience suddenly stopped cheering and gasped in unison—

Numbuh 10 screamed, "SHE'S HURT! NUMBUH 5 IS HURT! And now it's WALLY going after Abby!"

Numbuh 86 almost jumped out of her seat, not believing her eyes.

"JA!" yelled Heinrich, quite happily.

Nothing was stopping him now. He came at her with a series of roundhouse kicks, with a speed he didn't know he had. Numbuh 5 was barely able to block them as they came, and now SHE was being held in a corner. He tried to grab her waist for a body slam, but she fended him off with several jabs. He came back with kicks to her midsection; the few that connected stunned her enough to weaken her blocking.

The bell rang again.

He continued to kick, and she suddenly charged at him.

Numbuh 10 couldn't believe it either. "Abby wants to continue! She grabs Wally by his shirt, shoves him against the ropes and gives him a HARD jab straight on his nose—!"

"But Numbuh 4 just picks her up and throws her to the mat in a reverse body slam! This is World War III! No holds barred on THIS birthday!" Kuki and Tommy jumped into the ring to grab Wally, while Hoagie and Patton jumped in to take Abby back to her corner. It took quite some effort to separate the two.

"I'll say! Wally may be on the receiving end so far, but he's here to fight. This is shaping up to be a personal war, and right now, it's anybody's match."

The blonde boy was made to sit, and Numbuh 3 jumped, "You're doing great, Wally!"

"Uh—thanks."

Heinrich jumped up to Wally's side. "Now she's vorried. You hurt her—YOU HURT HER!" he shouted with glee. "You see? She's not ze machine, she's ze GIRL!"

On the opposite corner, Hoagie pleaded, "Abby, are you all right?"

"How could you do this? You let him get through!" growled Numbuh 60.

"You've got her now, Vally! Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…"

"Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…"

"Blitzkrieg!"

"Blitzkrieg…wot does that mean, anywoy?"

The German boy looked at him for a moment. "NEVER MIND ZAT! JUST DO IT!"

Numbuh 4 shrugged at that.

After resting for one minute, Numbuh 5 slowly stood, her ribs aching, adjusted her cap and her braid, and looked at the blonde boy. "He's not human…" she mumbled. "He's like a walking jawbreaker…"

Wally then looked up, and he could see Abby's hardened eyes. So, she wanted more?

"Yew wont a piece of meh?" he shouted.

"YEAH!" she huffed, as the bell rang.

What followed was something no Kid Next Door would ever forget; even with decommissioning, this fight would remain in their dreams. Both the Aussie and the African-American pounded on each other with every single kick and punch they knew of. Side blows, body slams, arm and leg twists, back breakers, and even a dope slap or two. It also seemed that each punch to the head and face splattered the girls on the front row with water, saliva, sweat, and even a drop of blood or two.

The audience wasn't sure of all that was going on between both operatives, given that on one moment, Wally seemed to be winning with triple hook combos and a flying kick that nearly knocked Abby off the ring, and the next moment Abby came back with a foot sweep and a reverse body slam that nearly sent Wally through the floor.

Nick and Numbuh 10 were right: this was anybody's match.

Both wanted to finish this quickly. Extending this 15 rounds would be murder on both.

"Blitzkrieg!"

Numbuh 4 picked up a stunned Numbuh 5 and threw her across the ring again; the corner post was the only thing that kept her from rolling off the ring.

Still, she got up and went right back to the boy.

Moments later…

Nick couldn't believe it, "I hear cheers now for Numbuh 4!"

"NUM-BUH 4! NUM-BUH 4! WALLY—WALLY—WALLY!" What was more; some girls whipped up their markers and adjusted their signs accordingly.

"Nick, this place is ready to explode. Lethal punch after punch!—"

"And amazing willpower! There's the bell again, and both kids are backing off. Numbuh 4's determination is actually winning over the once-hostile crowd. This is incredible!"

"You're doing great, Wally!" repeated Kuki.

"Oi am?" he asked groggily, "Wot roun' is et?"

"Um, I don't know, I'm not counting."

"Never mind zat!" yelled Heinrich. "Therre's no stopping you now, Vally. Zis is YOUR round. No stopping now! You starrt, und you don't stop! All your strength! All your power! Everryzing you've got! You have to pin her down or knock her out! You punch and kick, till your arrms and legs fall off! Knock her out! BLITZRKIEG!"

Meanwhile, up in the balcony, Numbuh 362 was eyeing Numbuh 86 to the point that the Irish lass almost felt her helmet getting more holes. The redhead then suddenly ran off the balcony, and dashed to Numbuh 5's corner.

There, she suddenly grabbed Numbuh 60 by his shirt and barked at his face, "Ye train'd this fool—she's a DISGREECE!" and shoved him to the ground, where he was rendered helpless as she gave him a swift kick between the legs. Huffing, Fanny slowly turned to Abby, who was sitting in her corner and trying to catch her breath. The Irish lass stepped up to her and hissed in her ear, "Lees'n t'them…" her eyes flashed as she removed her helmet; the air in Wally's room was getting very thick. "Th'girls are cheer'n f'r a BLOODY BOY—!—ye IDJIT!" she spat. Suddenly Numbuh 86 gave her a dope slap, flipping Numbuh 5's braid over and nearly knocking her red cap off. "WIN ALRREEDY!"

Slowly, Abby raised her head.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Slowly, she turned.

Slowly, her eyes met Fanny's.

Slowly, the fire in her eyes rose until they matched Fanny's.

Slowly, the fire in her eyes _overpowered_ Fanny's.

Slowly, fear crept into Fanny.

Slowly, Abby stood.

Slo—

The next thing Numbuh 86 knew was that Numbuh 5 was grabbing the top of her hair and was bodily LIFTING her off the floor by her hair.

"NO!" cried Hoagie, himself frightened by the rage he never knew Abby had.

Numbuh 86 was screaming in pain and was trying to claw herself free from Numbuh 5's grasp, and the audience was screaming as well—

Abby threw her to the front row, right on top of Numbuh 10. Then, she looked down at the frightened girl with dishevelled red hair, and hissed back, "Numbuh 5 ain't doin' this fo' you, OR fo' them," she gestured to the audience. "Numbuh 5 is doin' this——" she leaned down and huffed, "Fo' Numbuh 5…" She then whirled to Numbuh 362 on the balcony, and with her eyes still blazing, she pointed at her Supreme Leader and repeated, "FO' NUMBUH 5!"

Rachel just sat there, dumbfounded, stunned, and silent, as did the rest of Global Command.

The bell rang again.

Nick continued, "There's the bell. The war is on to the end. Which one of these magnificent fighters will be left standing, if at all?"

"Numbuh 5 gives a stiff jab—and another."

The two were slowly walking around the ring's centre. Abby's jabs grew in strength, and Wally had to endure a few leg sweeps as well, but he remained standing.

Numbuh 10 said, "Wally's taking hits, trying to say off the corners. Man, both kids are completely exhausted!"

Numbuh 4 wasn't returning the blows.

"Vhat are you waiting for? Hit her!"

Wally was taunting her now. He pointed at his chin, and barely dodged an uppercut. "Come on, foight meh!" he growled. Which she did, managing to land blows to the top of his head and kicks that he could barely block.

Abby jumped for another flying kick, which went too high. The boy then grabbed her arm and clumsily swung a series of kicks to her side.

Nick narrated, "The Aussie is chopping the American down—!"

"But Abby's swift right cross stuns Wally!"

"Don't go down!" screamed Kuki.

Numbuh 10 continued, "A backhand by 4, another backhand by 5, another backhand, another backhand—there's no technique, there's no strategy—this is just a street fight! It's a question of who wants it most!"

"Vat is he doing!"

"He's winning, uh, I think," replied Tommy unsure of what was happening.

Both kids seemed only to have backhands left, as they were barely able to attack due to exhaustion. Every blow was returned without any attempt to block.

"Knock herr head off, you dummkopf!"

A backhand and a foot sweep sent Abby on her back. Wally immediately jumped to the corner post and bounced of the ropes, doing a flying elbow drop toward Abby's torso. She narrowly rolled out of the way and staggered back to her feet. Looking at each other, both knew that neither could last any longer. They couldn't let their guard down, naturally, for even though both were exhausted and injured, both were still dangerous.

"…another backhand, another backhand…"

Numbuh 4 suddenly staggered back at one backhand, but just when everyone thought he was going to fall off the ring, he ran toward Numbuh 5 and did the same sliding kick again, except this time he slid a little slower then normal. Abby easily jumped over him as he slid under her, but her exhaustion and pain didn't give her much leeway.

Wally then grabbed an injured ankle and yanked her down with enough force that when she landed on her right shoulder.

For a moment, Numbuh 5 thought her joint had disconnected.

"Finish herr!"

Abby couldn't move. Clumsily, Wally crawled back up to her, grabbed a leg, twisted her arm, and pinned her shoulders to the mat.

In unison, the entire audience began counting.

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"You're gonna do it, Wally!" yelled Kuki.

Hoagie was almost crying. "THREE!"

Nigel just shook his head. "FOUR!"

Fanny couldn't look. "FIVE!"

Rachel just covered her mouth. "SIX!"

"SEVEN!"

Abby couldn't even struggle. She had no more strength. "EIGHT!"

"NINE!"

Then, she leaned up and whispered to his ear, "Ain't gonna be no rematch…"

"Don't toll meh yew wont one…"

"TEN!"

Numbuh 5 raised her hand to signal she surrendered. "…uncle…" she barely said.

Numbuh 4 released her, and snatched the red cap off her head. Weakly, he staggered to his feet, lifting the cap as if it were a trophy.

The crowd squealed, and for a moment, it seemed that everyone wanted to pour into the ring. Even Nick and Numbuh 10 jumped in.

"Numbuh 4 has done the impossible!" he said.

"And the girls love him! It is absolute pandemonium!"

"More than ever, Wally has proven himself a true champion of the Kids Next Door!"

"AND THE WINNER: NUMBUH 4!" yelled Numbuh 1, lifting Wally's hand up high.

Kuki was next to reach him, draping him with an Australian flag, while Hoagie and Patton reached Abby and carefully tried to help her stand. Nick and Numbuh 10 finally reached Wally among the crowding girls, and offered their microphones to them, as it seemed Numbuh 4 wanted to speak.

"Thanks—" he mumbled on Nick's microphone.

"Arigato," translated Kuki into Japanese, for no reason at all, speaking into Numbuh 10's microphone. Wally looked at her oddly, but continued.

"Thank yew—"

"Arigato." He wasn't sure why she was doing that, but he continued.

"Oi—Oi came 'ere tonoight—" The crowd hushed.

"Konban, boku wa kita."

"Oi thought Oi was jus' gonna git some coik—"

"Boku ga saishuuteki-na keeki eru itekiita koto kangäta." A few in the audience snickered.

"Oi saw a bunch o'cruddy goils 'atin' meh—"

She thought for a moment, and said, "Boku wa funinjou-na onanoko no taba ni mita." ("I saw a bunch of unkind girls.")

"So, Oi guess Oi—sorta 'ated ya'll too—"

"Su, mitomeru boku wa funinju de aru hajimatta." ("So, I admit I started being unkind too.")

"But—durin' this foight—"

"Demo, kono tatakai aidani—"

"Yew—choinged 'e way yew felt bout meh—"

"Anata ga boku ni tsuite kanjita huhu käta—"

"An'—Oi sorta—choinged 'e way Oi felt bout yew—"

"Soshita boku wa wazuka ni huhu anata no koto kangerareta."

"In 'ere—"

"Koko ni—"

"Thar warr—a boy 'n a girl—killin' each otha—"

"Otokonoko to onanoko otagaina koroshita." Abby slowly blinked at him, and bowed her head in shame.

"But Oi guess thet's betta—than 'avin AWL of 'em—"

She didn't understood that very well, so she said, "Demo, kaiaku dekita." ("But, it could have been worse.")

"—uh—wot Oi'm cruddy sayin' ess—"

"Honto wa—" ("The truth is—")

"If Oi kin foight—"

"Boku wa tatakäkatara—"

"An' if _she_ kin foight—" he pointed at Abby.

"Soshite kanojo wa tatakäkatara—"

"Then _yew_ kin foight—" He pointed at the audience.

"Sate anata wa tatakeru!" Cheers rose again.

"_AV'RYBODY_ KIN FOIGHT!" He smiled, raising his hands.

"_MINNA-SAN_ WA TATAKERU!" As did Kuki.

With that, the crowd got on their feet, and applauded and cheered like never before. Reluctantly, Numbuh 362 and all of Global Command also stood and clapped, stone-faced, at Numbuh 4, all but one.

Numbuh 362 glared down at Numbuh 86, and reluctantly, she too, stood up, almost against her will, and also applauded Numbuh 4.

"Oi juss' wonna soy one more thin'—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin'—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!" The audience screamed with laughter.

Kuki flinched and blushed at that remark, though. Thinking quickly, she translated, "INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!" ("Start praying, fools!")

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISAMA WA TSUGI DA!"

Wally then approached Abby, who was sitting at her corner, and placed her cap back on her head. Then, he gave her a hand to help her stand up. The two embraced, and she managed to kiss the top of his head. "Thanks for the hand—and fo' the fight, Numbuh 4." She looked at him and then lowered her head, turning to limp away.

"Abby?"

She stopped, but didn't turn.

"Abby, thare's no shoime en defeat if yew tried yer 'ardest." She just nodded, and slowly limped her way out. He began wondering if he should try to help Abby somehow, but right then Kuki screamed as she wrapped her arms around him. His legs suddenly felt even MORE rubbery and face turned completely red. He smiled a huge goofy smile at her and Kuki giggled again.

That sound was so uplifting.

As for the audience, they just continued cheering for him, but a few of them stared silently in amazement at how he had defeated whom they thought to be the best fighter in the Kids Next Door.

Numbuh 4 decided to play it cool like Numbuh 5, and he walked out of his room quiet and mysterious-like, like in the western movies he loved to see.

Of course, both fighters left for sickbay, where Kuki and several other medical officers had to patch them up.

After a rather long stay in sickbay, they sorely went up to the main deck where the others had cake and soda waiting to celebrate his birthday. Numbuh 5 seemed to walk perfectly fine to the untrained eye, but even Numbuh 4 could tell that she was trying to put on a brave face and focus beyond the pain.

It didn't help that her left eye was swollen.

Wally, too, sported a swollen face and had to get some patches here and there, his battle scars temporarily covered.

The cake was finally served, and even Heinrich was allowed a piece before he was sent back to the Arctic prison. After that, the kids sat down to play video games for the rest of the day. Numbuh 2 was still the best in flight simulators and tore everyone to pieces in that department. But when it came to "Tekken", Wally was unstoppable. As he played, Numbuh 4 caught Numbuh 362 talking to Numbuh 1, rather sternly. A moment later, the girl left, and Nigel just stood there, looking rather worried.

"Somethin' up, Numbuh 1?" he asked.

His commander stood there for a moment, and replied, "Just normal business, Numbuh 4. Enjoy your party." And he walked away. Wally looked at him for a moment, and was about to follow him, but Numbuh 3 suddenly grabbed his hand to take him to the cake again. He forgot about Nigel, for now.

This was Numbuh 4's best birthday party so far. But as always, the night came and everyone left. And, as he did last year, he walked Kuki home. As he led her to her door, she opened it up and stopped. "Hey Wally, I have a special present for you that I didn't want the others to see."

Wondering what she could possibly be talking about, his thoughts were derailed when she suddenly glomped him and kissed him on the cheek.

He just stood there in shock, and a moment later he smiled like a big doofus, the pain of his injuries momentarily forgotten.

"Good night, Wally," she giggled, and closed the door behind her.

Still smiling, he turned around and almost floated to his own house. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss she gave him. He sure loved birthdays now—

"OOFF!"

Until he ran crotch-first into a fire hydrant.

If anything could pull him out of a trance, it was a low blow, especially this one, as it seemed that the pain connected to every bruise and cut he had received from Abby. As any other male would, he tumbled to the sidewalk and lay there for some time, waiting for the pain to subside. Eventually, he slowly got up to hobble his way home.

A loud crack of lightning behind him made him jump, and he whirled to see a large black thunderhead heading over town, and in his direction. He tried to run, or at least walk fast, in spite of his pain, but the downpour began before he reached his street, drenching him completely. By the time he opened his door it looked as if he had just jumped into a river, though the water was easing the sting off his injuries somewhat.

He hated the rain.

Tonight it seemed like God had turned on a water faucet in Heaven and left it running all night. Once inside the comfort of his room, he stripped from his freezing clothes, he dried himself, and changed into his feety pyjamas. He then slid under the covers and tried to fall asleep, but with the rumbling thunder nearby it was rather difficult, and it didn't help when his house was occasionally shaken by a nearby strike. The cloudburst didn't last too long, naturally, and eventually he could tell that the rain was dissipating, and the sound of the rain diminished to a gentle rhythm. He fell asleep quickly by then; lulled by the sound of the rain.

As darkness enveloped him, and as his body rested, two thoughts lingered in his mind:

He hated the rain.

He hated birthdays.

(…snore…)

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED


	4. Chapter 11 Rearing the Head

TRANSMISSION RESTORED

PART 11 — REARING THE HEAD

Nigel Uno, Numbuh 1, was the leader Sector V. Few would take that job take willingly, and even fewer were capable of surviving the rigorous training needed to make it through some of the missions. Moreover, he always considered his team the best.

Currently, he was piloting his personal rocket, on his way to see Global Command at the Moonbase. Usually, GC simply sends a message through the satellite grid, but this was a very odd situation, since Numbuh 362 herself had personally given him the order to report to the Moonbase. That had Nigel a trifle worried, because every time he showed up was because there was catastrophe right around the corner that he had to prevent.

Naturally, he had no choice. Numbuh 362 had a special mission for him, and he dreaded to think what it could be.

He went through the standard arrival and landing protocols, and left his rocket to be refuelled and serviced at the hangar, and headed for the Command Centre. After a while, he saw the doors at the end of the corridor, guarded by the six troops of the Elite Guard. Behind those two slabs of solid steel sat the head of Global Command, Supreme Commander Numbuh 362. She alone was privy to all of the Kids Next Door's top-secret files.

Nigel walked up to the door and took a deep breath.

Time to dance for the monkey grinder.

He entered and saw that the room was dimly lit except for a lone spotlight and a lamp on a single desk. He couldn't see the rest of the command operatives, but he knew that they were watching. Numbuh 362 gestured him to stand on the spotlight, and he did so.

"Numbuh 1, reporting for duty, sir," he saluted.

"Sit down Numbuh 1, you're not going to like this one." As Nigel moved a chair and took his place in front of her, she took a deep breath and let out a deep and heavy sigh. "Numbuh 1, we have a big problem. Or, at least we will in a few years. I think it is important to nip this problem in the bud now. It will be difficult to do now, but it could be near impossible later. Don't you think it would be a good idea to take care of this now before it becomes too difficult for us to handle?"

"Yes ma'am, I agree."

"Good, Numbuh 1, that's good," she nodded, holding her hands together for a bit, and staying silent.

"So, what is this problem of yours?"

She looked up. "Well, Numbuh 1, you know why we decommission Kids Next Door operatives once they turn 13. We often call on you to help us with the decommissioning, as it seems that a few of them are a bit more than Numbuh 86 can handle. But soon enough, we're going to have a terrible fight on our hands with the one I am assigning you. And because of that, I am giving you any number of operatives that you think you might need and any resources that you will require for this mission."

The Brit raised an eyebrow, adjusting his sunglasses. "This sounds huge, but doesn't Fanny and her team have enough people up here that are specifically trained for just decommissioning old agents? Why can't they handle this together?"

Slowly, she stood. "Because, Numbuh 1, you have the most experience with this agent, and I think you will be able to deal with him better than anyone up here, even better than Fanny."

He eyed her for a moment, recalling all the operatives he dealt with in his years in the Kids Next Door. Very few of them were approaching 13, though, and those that did, he was sure that Numbuh 86 would not have any problems with them. "Okay, I give up. Who is this guy?"

Rachel bowed her head. "Numbuh 4."

He shivered at the mention of that name, as if a nail was being driven into his very soul. Shock and astonishment barely scratched the surface of how he felt. Hoping he heard wrong, he asked, "Who?"

"You heard me right the first time, Nigel. It's Wallaby Beatles: Numbuh 4."

That couldn't be right. And why would they want HIM to hunt Numbuh 4? "Commander, Numbuh 4 barely turned 10 today! Or, yesterday, the party was a few hours ago. But he still has three more years to go—or—have the records been altered again?" he demanded.

"I KNOW he turned 10 today, Numbuh 1, I was at the party too, remember? But if you recall, he alone managed to take down more then a score of HIGHLY TRAINED KIDS NEXT DOOR agents last year, and just now he defeated the most skilled of all the Kids Next Door fighters and left her as a PULP."

"He didn't exactly end without a mark on him, either."

"That may be true, but he can only get better and I don't think that we will be able to decommission him three years from now. If we can get him now—we can bypass all of that grief."

Nigel stood and approached her, "With all due respect, Commander, I suppose I see your point, but Numbuh 4 has been a loyal member since day one! Everything that he has done has been for the best interest of the Kids Next Door! Shouldn't we at least give him a chance to further prove who he's loyal to?"

"I did already," she sighed. "I thought about doing this last year, after seeing him mow down our best operatives as if they were nothing but dolls. But after I saw what he did to Numbuh 5, I decided that we better prepare for the worst. He has been monitored and I've seen that he has improved exponentially in the past year, so I have made my decision: he MUST be decommissioned immediately."

"Are you ordering me to betray my team member AND my friend?" he blasted.

"Numbuh 1, if you don't do it, I will have someone else do it for you. It's as simple as that," she replied calmly.

Numbuh 1 walked away slowly, thinking for what felt like an eternity, incredulous of what he had been ordered to do. He always hated hunting down fellow operatives, the people who he fought side by side with on a daily basis, and now—Wally?

He couldn't believe it.

"I need a decision now, Numbuh 1."

He fisted tightly and whirled toward her. "He WON'T betray us, Commander."

"Are you so certain? Who of us here doesn't remember Cree Lincoln? Our best fighter of that time, and she defeated us and betrayed us. If Cree did that to us, can you imagine the disasters Wally could do if we don't stop him now?"

"Wally ISN'T Cree, Commander. He ISN'T Chad, either. And he WON'T run." He turned toward the darkness, where he knew the command operatives were sitting, including Numbuh 86, "And if any of you had BOTHERED to take a closer look at him, you'd know exactly why he will not run."

"Well, this is interesting," said Rachel, "What exactly did all of us here at Global Command, experienced observers, fighters, tacticians, and strategists, happen to miss?"

"Commander, do you know WHY Wally beat up all our TRAINED fighters in less than 5 minutes?"

She turned to him, "Because he was angry!"

"He's angry most of the time."

She thought for a moment, "Oh, yes, he thought his sector was in trouble."

"Wrong again, Commander."

"What?"

"Commander, Wally mowed down all our fighters because _he didn't know_ they were Kids Next Door. It was too dark for him to identify them, but still, he didn't let anything get in his way from rescuing that which he treasures most."

"Treasures?"

"He didn't rush to save US, Commander. He rushed to rescue Numbuh 3."

Numbuh 362 stood still at that for a moment. "So you're saying that because his girlfriend is also a Kids Next Door operative he won't betray her in 3 years?"

"That's ONE reason why he won't run. He won't let anything hurt Kuki, nor will he deliberately do anything that will cause her to be hurt. He won't betray US because he won't betray HER. And even when he fought Numbuh 5, it wasn't HIS challenge, but HERS. And, I'm sure all of you noticed how he hesitated to fight on the first round. It was _Abby_ who provoked him to fight without any holds barred—or do you think that if Sector V got an emergency right this moment he'd take advantage of Abby's weakness and betray her right now?"

"You made your point, Nigel," she said, walking up to him, "But suppose things don't work out. Suppose he and Kuki break up one year from now. What then?"

He turned away. "You seem so insistent on his imminent betrayal, Commander. Perhaps I'm wrong, but what would it take to prove me right?"

"The only thing that would prove you right would be if he willingly walks to the Decommissioning Chamber when he turns13, but you know I can't risk that."

"Then what would it take to get you to trust him? I trust him with my life, and I know he'd do anything to protect yours as well."

She thought for a moment, and replied, "A test."

"I thought as much," smiled the bald lad.

* * *

Several minutes later, Numbuh 1 left Command Centre, stone faced, and walked back to the hangar.

As he left, several lights turned on around Numbuh 362, revealing the rest of Global Command, a boy and two other girls, as well as Numbuh 86.

Fanny stepped up to her hissed, "Ah kin dew this aloone, Commenderr! Jes' giv' me one hourr 'n Wolley won't knewe wot hit him!"

Rachel turned to the redhead, and replied, "Your feminine wiles won't work on HIM, Fanny. And you KNOW why."

With that, Numbuh 362 left Command Centre, leaving behind a VERY irate Irish lass.

* * *

"Oi juss' wonna soy one more thin'—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin'—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISAMA WA TSUGI DA!"

(rewind)

(play)

"—onna soy one more thin'—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin'—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISAMA WA TSUGI—!"

(rewind)

(play)

"—thin'—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin'—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISA—!"

(rewind)

(play)

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISA—!"

(rewind)

(play)

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

(rewind)

(play)

"YERR NEXT!"

"Can't understand his accent?"

(pause)

"I can understand him just fine. I just keep wondering what he meant by that."

"Do you reckon he offered an official challenge?"

"Yeah right. That SHRIMP against the best fighters in the HISTORY of the Kids Next Door?"

"You SAW how he left Abigail."

"And you SAW how Abigail left HIM. Maybe he said that in the heat of victory."

"Maybe, but I sincerely doubt—"

"Shut up. You know it only took one punch to—"

"YOU shut up. I honestly don't know how he managed to do that, considering everything YOU did before. But I don't think Wallaby will need another 'fight of the century'."

"What will he need, then?"

"An offer he can't refuse."

(rewind)

(play)

"Oi juss' wonna soy one more thing—to Chad 'n Cree, in coise therr'e wotchin—!"

"Chaddo to Kurii wa nagametara, boku wa atoipo-na kotodzuke ga aru!"

"(CENSORED) YEW, CHUMPS!"

"INORU HAJIMARE, BAKA-TACHI!"

"YERR NEXT!"

"KISAMA WA TSUGI DA!"

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED


	5. Chapter 12 Gauntlet Received

TRANSMISSION RESTORED

PART 12 — GAUNTLET RECEIVED

Kuki tackled Wally and sent both kids rolling on the sand, laughing. Wally then kneeled and began digging at almost lighting speed, and before Kuki could do anything about it, she found herself buried in the sand, right next to him.

"See? It's fun, Kuki!!"

"Maybe, but I don't see why you had to fill your pool to the TOP with sand, if this is all you're going to do. You could have just filled it half-way, you know."

"Moi dad got a discount."

She giggled for a bit, and then asked him, "Do you want a soda?"

"Sure!! Let meh go git it—"

"No, Wally, I'll get it for you. I'll be right back!" It took a bit of effort for her to extricate herself from the artificial dune, but eventually, she stood, shook all the loose sand from herself and her pink one-piece, and walked back into the house.

As he waited for her, the blonde boy began to sing his favourite song, "Buried in the sand! Na-na-na NA!!! Buried in the sand! Na-na-na NA!!! Buried in the saAWWWPFFF—!!"

Where there was once a blonde Australian boy, there was suddenly none.

A few minutes later, a Japanese girl returned with two cans of soda, but there was no one in the sand pool. "Wally? Wally?" She looked around a bit, but he wasn't there. "Maybe he went to the bathroom." She sat down on the beach chair and waited, drinking her own soda.

Numbuh 4 was filled with momentary horror as he sank through the darkness, sand filling his eyes, nose, and mouth. He thought his pool had suddenly turned to quick sand, but he thought the sand had to be wet for that. That, and there was something clamped on his right ankle that seemed to be pulling him down.

The next thing he knew was that he was suddenly free from the sand, and he blew it out of his nose and mouth while trying to clear it from his eyes. He also noticed that he seemed to be hanging upside down from his right ankle, for some reason. A minute later, he finished coughing and scooping all the sand from his eyes and tongue—

—and the blurred image of an upside down Chad Dickson, clad in his teen ninja armour, came into focus in front of him.

"Enjoy your 'swim', Wallaby?"

"Ptooeh! Wot do yew wont from meh, traitor??!!" he spat at him. He bent upwards to grab the clamp that had his ankle captive.

"Well, believe it or not, I brought you here to have a little talk." Fuelled with fury at the former Supreme Commander, Numbuh 4 tugged on the metal clamp with both hands, his muscles flexing under his skin and his sweat starting to wash off some of the sand. "You can relax, you know. All you have to do to break free from that is to ASK ME to release—"

(CLINK)

The blonde Aussie landed on his feet, and the clamp that held his ankle was now broken at the hinges.

"Impressive," said Chad.

Now Wally could see where he was. Apparently, someone dug a tunnel right under his pool, opened a breach on the bottom, and was thus able to pick him off with a rather crude mechanical winch and lever. The tunnel was also crudely made, with only a few wooden frames to hold it up, and a large plastic shield to keep the sand from filling up the space under the pool. Crude lightbulbs were hung randomly around them, providing little, but enough light. "Oi'm not askin' YEW f'r ENNYTHIN'!!!" hissed Numbuh 4.

Calmly, the tall teen continued, "Well, as I was saying, I brought you here because I recently saw your show."

The child was about to pounce on the teen and stopped, "W—wot show?"

"Oh, you know: the one the Kids Next Door broadcast to all the treehouses on the planet, and the one that I hacked into and saw as well: your little 'fight' with Abigail Lincoln?"

"Yeh, well it wasn't MOI show, it was Abby's idear."

"Be that as it may, you defeated her, right?"

Numbuh 4 raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeh?"

"And right after you won, you said, 'I just want to say one more thing to Chad and Cree, in case they're watching: (CENSORED) you, chumps, you're next'."

He blinked, suddenly feeling sheepish, "Er, yeh, Oi said that."

"Well, it just HAPPENS that I WAS watching, Wally, and I just wanted to know: I'm next for what?" Wally scowled—but suddenly realised he didn't have a response. "Next for getting beat up by you, perhaps??"

That seemed feasible. "N' whoi not? Oi've knocked yew out befower."

"Ah, but you just knocked me out with one punch, and that was by surprise. Did you have in mind a free-for-all fight, like you had with Abby?"

He kept his fists tight, "Whoi do yew ask? Yew think yew can handle meh??"

"Ah, little Wally, that's what I brought you here for. You see, all of us teens saw just how good of a fighter you are, and they saw how you turned Numbuh 5 into a pulp—which, I might add, made Cree very happy."

Wally had a blank face, but when Chad mentioned Cree, he scowled. "Yeh, so wot?"

"Anyways, I didn't bring you here to accept the challenge—not yet, anyway. I came here to help you."

"HELP??" asked the Aussie, as if Chad had just asked him for a koala. "With WOT??" His temper was ready to explode.

"That is my next point, Wally. You've received training from the Kids Next Door, and now you're an awesome fighter. But, when you turn 13, you'll be decommissioned, and all that training will stop as you become a 'normal' teenager. So, what I'm offering you is the chance for US to train you now, secretly, while you're still in the Kids Next Door, so you can become an even BETTER fighter than you are now. And by the time you turn 13, NO KN-Dork will be able to capture you and decommission you. You will then leave the Kids Next Door as the best fighter in its history, perhaps even better than Cree—or me—and your training will continue as you join the Teen Ninjas."

The Aussie looked at the American incredulously. A chance to be even better than Cree? "Whoi meh?"

"Because you're the best there is, after me and Cree, of course. You defeated Numbuh 5, so that makes you the best of the Kids Next Door now. If Abby had won, we'd be giving the offer to her."

"Yeh, n' after all th'trainin' YEW got, Numbuh 1 was able t'knock YEW out with one punch!!" he accused.

"Ah, but that was during my transition period. I've got MORE training now, so Numbuh 1 can't touch me now. Let US train you, and NO ONE will be able to touch YOU."

"N' whoi should Oi join yew?" he huffed, crossing his arms.

Chad counted on his fingers, "Well, for starters, if you let us train you secretly, the Teen Ninjas will not attack your sector until you turn 13. Father will NOT know you're a double agent—again, until you turn 13. And, any ninja attacks on the sectors near yours will be—light," he grinned. "And once you join us, YOU will help us bring both kids AND adults under Teen control! YOU will be the one who will END this war, bringing kids and adults together, to serve the Teenagers, as they rightfully should!! Join me, and we'll rule this planet together as——uh—" he faltered a bit, "—uh—as—um——friendly acquaintances?"

"Will yew give meh money?" asked Wally, walking toward Chad.

He thought for a bit, "Um—yes, we can arrange that."

"Will yew give meh rank?"

"You'll ascend quickly."

"Will yew give meh goils?"

"They'll be following you like lost puppies."

"Will yew give meh moi friends??"

Chad was about to reply, but suddenly realised he had no answer.

"Thought so," said Wally. Chad then saw the short boy give a defiant scream and jump toward his face, his eyes filled with rage.

He HAD additional training since the Hendry Middle School Run, so all he had to do was lift his foot, and activate the rocket on the sole. This caused him to press back on the support beam behind him, but the small burst was enough to make Wally scream with pain and fall in front of the teen. Unlike the tall boy, he was only clad in his blue trunks and had no shielding whatsoever. Smirking, Chad straightened up and looked down at the child who was clutching his face and writhing in pain at his feet.

This had been too eas—

Wally had rolled to his feet, and despite the pain in his face, he grabbed Chad's ankle and shoved his leg upward, making him ram his knee on his own chin. This made the teen whip his head back and knock it against the beam. Since Chad did not have his helmet on, he nearly knocked himself out. The child then jumped and gave a powerful double uppercut on the teen's chin, again causing him to bang the back of his head against the wall.

Numbuh 4 landed on his feet and watched as Chad Dickson, former Numbuh 274, crumbled to a heap in front of him.

"Some trainin' YEW 'ave," he scoffed, spitting on the teen, and then he tried to ease off some of the pain of the rocket burns on his face.

At that point, he heard a single person clapping nearby.

"Very good, little Wallaby. Very good!"

Numbuh 4 whirled in the direction of the voice, and from the shadows, he saw none other than Cree Lincoln, former Operative Numbuh 11.

As she came into view, he saw that she didn't have her armour, for some reason. "Though I must say: even with his additional training, Chad has ALWAYS been a pathetic ninja. I monitored the Hendry Middle School Run, and it was filled with his incompetence from start to finish."

His scowl became fiercer than ever before. "N' wot do YEW wont, Cree???"

She began a seductive sauntering around the blonde boy. "Oh, I just came here to confirm Chad's offer. I saw how you beat up my little sister—good job, by the way—and we're offering you a chance for MORE. A chance to beat up EVERY SINGLE TEEN, ADULT, _AND_ KID who has ever done you wrong, Kid Next Door or not, no matter what rank, sector, or age. And yes, we can get you all the girls you want. And if you're a GOOD little boy—" she leaned into her ear, "—maybe I'll give you a kiss or two as well."

He jumped, whirling so he could face her. "Yew're SICK," he spat.

"Am I? Just think about it, Wally: We're bigger, stronger, better equipped, have bigger weapons, better armour and shielding, and ONE thing that none of your superiors will admit to you:" she leaned closer again, "we're defeating the Kids Next Door, little by little, and soon, we'll have you crushed under our feet."

His rage increased, "Yew're LOYIN'!!!"

She shook her head and chuckled, "Of course, Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 362 will deny that, but as you recall, Chad was your Supreme Leader before, so HE should know the PATHETIC situation you Babies Next Door are in—and that's why we came to you, Wally. You can have a part with the Teen Ninjas, first as a double agent, and then, when we defeat the Kids Next Door, YOU'LL be pulled out just in time to be a full-fledged Teen Ninja."

He trembled with rage. "Th'answer ess NO, yew cruddy teenoijjer!!"

She kept her seductive smile, and walked to one end of the tunnel. "Oh, Wally, Wally, Wally. 'Crabigail' never told you that I don't take 'no' for an answer?"

"Yeh? Well, 'ow 'bout '(CENSORED) YEW'!!!"

She laughed at his attempts to be crude. "Any teen can top that remark, Wally, but the bottom line is that if you refuse: the teens will take Kuki—and will hide her in a place where you'll NEVER find her, and she'll be imprisoned until you agree to join us." If he had been a dingo, his hackles would be raised by now. Still, he felt a definite prickling on the back of his neck. "Kuki loses even if we don't do anything to her. We defeat the Kids Next Door, and she goes down with them. Or, we could keep her—'safe' until you decide to join us."

That was when Wally snapped, and he charged at the female teen.

She stood there, grinning seductively—

—and Wally suddenly had to stop because a wall of fire suddenly separated the African-American from him.

"'Crabigail' was right. You think with your fists more than with your brain. But still, I'd like to know something, Wally: What did you mean when you said that Chad and I were 'next'?"

He had an answer now. "Et means that ENNYONE kin foight n'beat yew!! No mattah 'ow good yew were in th'Kids Next Door, thar will be someone BETTAH t'come n' defeat yew TROITORS!!!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Anyone? Even YOU perhaps?"

"ENNYONE," he growled.

"Oh, Wally, I SAW how you left 'Crabigail', but looking at how SHE left YOU, I can very much say that you can't defeat ME," suddenly sounding dangerous.

That didn't faze him at all. "OI'VE BEATEN ADULTS BIGGAH TH'N YEW!!"

"Oh yes, that incident at the movie theatre, yes, I heard about it. Well, Wally, those adults may have been bigger than me, but trust me, they WEREN'T fighters. And you WILL join us, Wallaby. Chad and I were Combat Specialists—fighters, and so are you. We ran from decommissioning, and SO—WILL—YOU. You might as well run now, because you WILL run when you turn 13."

He was trying to find a way through the wall of fire, but there was none, and given that he was clad only in his trunks, he had little protection. And he couldn't jump because the flames were too high and the ceiling was too low. "OI WILL NOT JOIN YEW, NOT NOW, AND NOT EVAH!!" he growled, and he paced side to side like a caged panther.

For a moment, his tone startled her, but she didn't let him see that.

"Kuki will then disappear until we defeat you babies, and—" she pulled out what looked to be a timer. "A bomb that is hidden in this tunnel will explode, making it cave in, with YOU in it. And despite being deep, my BRA will protect me quite well—if I decide to watch you be buried alive."

Something didn't add up to Numbuh 4, though. He looked behind him and saw that the other teen was still unconscious. "Wot 'bout him?"

"Oh, we don't need him anymore. But YOU should be concerned about YOU, Wallaby. YOU can't run—however, before I leave, I just want to know one last thing:"

"Yeh? Wot?"

"I just want to know—" her armour enclosed her, "—how quickly I can turn you INTO A PULP!!!" she screamed, as the firewall died down, "NO ONE CHALLENGES CREE LINCOLN AND REMAINS STANDING!!!!" She hid the timer in her back pocket, and took a defensive stance.

With a high-pitched scream, the boy charged at the teen.

Calmly, the teen sprinted toward the boy.

Wally jumped and prepared to give her a double kick in the face and—

(POWTHUD!!!)

The next thing he knew was that he was at the back wall, sliding to the floor, while Cree just stood there, obviously grinning behind her mask.

Screaming again, he gave another charge and jumped for another kick and—

(POWTHUD!!!)

He slid to the floor again. Somehow, all his kicks were bouncing off that armour of hers. She had sprinted closer, however, so he tried again.

Cree was practically yawning at this point, and prepared to smash him to the wall again. She saw Wally jump, and she charged at the same time—

(THUD!!!)

Wally had jumped to her left, deliberately missing, and now it was Cree that slid down the far wall to the floor. He had to think fast now: regular punches and kicks would be bounced off her, and he might be able to do a body slam or two, but that armour would STILL protect her. He needed something—

Cree shook her head and turned to eye with fury at her "shrimp" adversary, just in time to see him take hold of the winch and levers that had pulled him down to the tunnel, and start pulling with all his might. She was rather surprised to see muscles show through his skin momentarily, and even more surprised when he managed to break off two long steel beams from the mechanism.

Numbuh 4 took a stance in front of her, holding his steel "tonfun" above him.

Furious, Cree charged at him and tried to kick his head off his shoulders, but now his "tonfun" not only served for offence, but for defence as well. And since her limbs were considerably longer than his, she couldn't get as much speed as he did. Despite his speed, however, his "poking" and bashing on her arms and legs didn't cause much denting in her armour.

Finally, she tried a swift right cross. He didn't block it, but instead dodged her fist and swept her whole arm to the side, and he continued the movement by completing a spin and using the steel beams to sweep her feet from under her.

She hit the ground hard, dizzy, but not knocked out.

—and Wally was standing right in front of—

(WHOOSH!!! THUD!!!)

Another rocket flare and Wally was thrown back, this time to the opposite wall.

However, as he slid down, he felt his hand bump against something on the wall. He turned, and saw that it was a knob of some sort, that had the label "FLAME ON/OFF". He then turned and saw that Cree was getting up with some difficulty. Armour or not, the fall was enough to stun her.

He turned the knob.

Cree SCREAMED and LEAPT to her feet, momentarily confused about which way to run, as it seemed that her entire armour had suddenly reached the boiling point. She screamed rather comically, and even slapped herself all over, reflexively, trying to put out the flames that she thought were still on her.

Once she realised that she was no longer on the firewall, and that she was no longer being roasted, something caught her ear.

She turned and saw that the "shrimp" was LAUGHING at her.

Furious beyond measure, she fired a laser blast at him, but he saw it coming, and Cree only managed to blast the flame control, making the firewall die as quickly as it had flared up.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!" she screeched, now charging at the defiant blonde boy—

—who was still LAUGHING at her.

Shots blasted from her forearms, but he was too quick a moving target as he bounced to and fro. Somehow, he managed to reach her, and he landed a good blow on her rear because he couldn't hit any higher. Even if he jumped, she was too quick at blocking her upper body. Cree didn't like being hit in the rear, and this time, she managed to shoot one "tonfun" off his hands. Frantically, he tried to follow it before it hit the ground, but she kept shooting at him, and he lost where it landed. She was also getting too close, but as he tried to walk back, he felt something near his foot. Glancing down, Wally saw he was right next to an unconscious Chad, so his next sudden move was to grab Chad's right leg, point the sole of his foot toward Cree's face, and press the button on the heel. Her helmet was enough to protect her from the rocket flare, so the next thing Wally knew was that Chad's foot seemed to explode, and both were blown back against the wall. The Aussie was quick on his feet, but felt rather dismayed to see Chad's armour fold back on itself and deactivate. He barely managed to dodge another blast, but this time, he jumped forward, rolled, and swung his remaining beam hard and high at the teenager. Cree had no problems blocking him, but right there, Wally pushed her arm up and with a backswing—

(SMASH!!!)

—destroyed the blaster that was on her left wrist.

Grunting with rage, she almost shoved her other blaster down his throat, but with a grunt of his own, he blocked it with his steel beam and shoved her arm upward, causing the shot to hit the plastic shield that held the sand above in place.

She instinctively looked up for less than one second.

And it only took less than one second for sand to fall into her eyes: the only place that her mask didn't protect.

With another girlish scream, she flinched and tried to remove the sand from her eyes and face—

(BLANG!!!)

She staggered back from the child, barely being able to focus on him, but quite clearly hearing her mask and helmet falling to the ground.

Numbuh 4 had to admit: without her mask and helmet, Cree didn't look that fierce anymore. In fact, with the scrapes and cuts that were visible on her face, and the line of blood that was running down the side of her mouth, she no longer looked invincible.

Cree DID manage to see him run toward her and attempt an uppercut, which she barely blocked in time. She shoved him back toward Chad, and as Wally staggered back, she blasted his remaining beam off his hand.

Now Wallaby was totally unarmed.

He looked at Chad.

Or was he?

With another defiant scream, Cree ran toward him, with the clearest intent of tearing the boy apart with her hands. He, in turn, ran to Chad, and tore his shirt off, just in time to dodge the furious girl that smashed her fists on the ground he was standing on an instant before.

He ran again, but before Cree could turn, he ran up the nearest support beam, jumped in a perfect off-the-wall move, and landed on her back, trapping her head with Chad's shirt and tightening it as much as he could, so he was hanging from it behind her.

"AAAHHH!! GET THIS OFF ME!!! IT SMELLS LIKE BODY ODOR MIXED WITH CHEAP COLOGNE!!!" She didn't buck, but she did stagger and shoot randomly, as well as trying to grab him while clawing at the shirt, which made either attempt unsuccessful.

Then, Numbuh 4 released her with a quick yank backwards, making her stagger back once more. He ducked between her feet, and as she passed over him, he shoved her legs out from under her, making her trip and fall on the motor that had worked the winch.

The impact on her bare head was not enough to knock her out, but it did leave her seeing stars. And as she defiantly tried to wobble to her feet—

(KAPOW!!!!)

—a double leaping uppercut had her dancing with the Sandman in an instant.

Quiet.

Calm.

Breathe.

As Wally caught his breath, eyeing the unconscious ex-Numbuh 11, he finally began to feel the effects of both battles. He was stinging in a thousand places, his face began to swell with pain and blisters, he felt blood dripping from his limbs, and he had to spit some blood as well.

He opened his fists, and now his fingers shot pain into his brain as well.

And he hoped that the deep pain on his left side wasn't a broken rib—

—beep-beep-beep-beep—

THE BOMB!!!

He limped toward Cree, flipped her on her stomach, and pulled out the timer from her back pocket. It wasn't difficult to figure out how it worked: all he had to do was press "OFF" and the timer fell silent in his hand.

He sighed again.

He wanted to lie down, or even to just sit down, but he couldn't with these two traitors here. He began walking toward the far end of the tunnel, wondering how far he'd have to go before he made it to the surface and called for—

A loud earthly grinding and a flash of light made him think the bomb went off anyway, but instead of feeling fire, he felt fresh air.

After his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that one side of the tunnel had been pushed back, revealing ANOTHER tunnel, better built and with better lighting, and in it were none other than Global Command, his Supreme Leader, the Elite Guard, and the rest of Sector V. They all had their weapons drawn, but only for a moment.

"Get these trraitorrs t'the prrissonerr trransporrt n'take 'em t'th Decommissioning Chamberrs!!" shrieked Numbuh 86 at the Elite Guard. Numbuh 4 watched with shock as the kids handcuffed the unconscious teens and hauled them out of the tunnel, but before he could ask anything, Numbuh 3 ran to him and gave him the bear hug of his life.

His exhaustion made him get lost in the hug for a minute, but he did manage to ask, "W—wot's awl this? Kuki, did yew call f'r help??"

At that, Global Command and the rest of Sector V walked up to him, and Numbuh 362 began, "First of all, Numbuh 4, I, your Supreme Leader, and the rest of Global Command, gives you our deepest apologies for having doubted your loyalty to the Kids Next Door. We had unethically monitored your activities, and when we saw that your skills kept improving, to the point of defeating Numbuh 86 and her platoon, and then Numbuh 5, we—I—" she faltered a bit, "—thought that you would hold to the same pattern that Chad and Cree held—I—thought that you would turn against us. We detected those two hacking the broadcast of your fight with Abby, so we monitored them as well. When we saw what they were doing, we dug this parallel tunnel to see what you would decide—and frankly, when Chad offered you money and girls—I thought we would lose you right there and then. However, when you asked for your friends————I————Wally…" She put her hand on his shoulder, "I was wrong, and your commander, Nigel, was right, because he never doubted your loyalty. Now, you have indeed proven yourself to be worthy of your rank and your Numbuh. And now I know that when your time is up, you won't betray us. Again, I offer my most sincere apologies and—Wally—I hope I didn't lose a friend with what I ordered the rest to do to you."

The Aussie couldn't speak. Everyone here had—seen him take down Chad and Cree?

"Hey, Numbuh 4, if it makes you feel better, Numbuh 5 is now even MORE jealous of you."

He turned to Abby, "W-wot? Whoi?"

"You did what Numbuh 5 has been wantin' to do to her sister for a LONG time."

"But—but—didn't yew shove 'er into a garbage pod?"

"Sure, but Numbuh 5 has yet to knock her out—which YOU did, Wally. Thanks." Abby then joined Kuki in the bear hug.

Numbuh 1 added, "And now, thanks to you, Cree and Chad will FINALLY be decommissioned, we'll have two confiscated BRA's to study, and there will be two less Teen Ninjas to bother us—provided that Numbuh 86 doesn't mess things up and they manage to escape somehow."

"AH HEARRD THAT!!!" shrieked Fanny, from the surface.

Everyone chuckled at that, and then Rachel stepped up to the bruised boy, extending her hand. "Thank you, Numbuh 4—Wally. I hope you still consider me as a friend, besides your Supreme Leader."

He looked at her with difficulty, as his eyes were starting to swell, but he smiled and took her hand in his, "Apology accepted, Commender."

As they led him out of the tunnel, Numbuh 2 spoke into his communicator, "Okay, we're done here. Fill in both tunnels as soon as we're out."

Wally was quite surprised to see a M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.H., several S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s and C.O.O.L.B.U.S.'s all over his yard, and an army of kids ran down the tunnel to begin filling it in. Before they boarded their own S.C.A.M.P.E.R., Rachel asked, "Say, Numbuh 4, you pulled off very interesting moves with Cree and Chad. You improvised very well—would you be interested in joining Numbuh 60 at the Arctic Base as Chief Combat Trainer for all our new recruits?"

Sector V couldn't believe it. Promotions didn't come every week, and they knew it. And now, Wally had his chance of moving up into the ranks, perhaps he could even become part of the Elite Guard.

He was looking at Kuki right now, however.

"Um—thanks f'r th'offer, Commender, but—let meh recover f'rst. Oi—Oi kinda need a medic roight now…"

Rachel understood, as did everyone else, because they all saw Kuki blushing like crazy. "Understood, Numbuh 4. Numbuh 3, as Chief Medical Officer of Sector V, take him to your Sickbay and make sure our best fighter recovers fully. If you need assistant medics, or if you need the Moonbase's facilities, don't hesitate to ask."

"Yes, sir!" she replied, saluting. The rest of Sector V saluted as well, boarded their S.C.A.M.P.E.R., and took off toward their treehouse.

Numbuh 362 stood there, watching them leave, and then turned to see the other kids filling in the tunnel.

She hoped this was the last grave mistake she made.

TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED


	6. Epilogue

TRANSMISSION RESTORED

EPILOGUE — EPIPHANY

"I don't like you!"

Wallaby Beatles couldn't sleep. It wasn't because the injuries of his fight with Cree and Chad were giving him problems, which they weren't, since he had a rather high pain tolerance. However, since it had happened under his pool, he had begun thinking about the previous incident with his pool.

"I don't like you!"

He had opposed the idea of getting a pool for his house, at first. But since his dad had got a BIG bonus (a rarity, especially because he worked for Mr. Boss), Mr. Beatles wanted to give his family a bit of luxury in their semi-dilapidated neighbourhood, and thus had the pool installed.

Which was a big waste of money, according to Wally. His inability to swim meant that he wouldn't be able to use an expensive pool, meaning, he would be left out.

And he had no intention of learning how to swim, either. Being buried in the sand was enough for him.

It didn't help that his friends came over regularly to use the pool while he just stood by and watched. Even with their ships, which could take them to the nearest beach in less than 30 minutes, they thought that it was more convenient for them to use his pool. It was almost as if they were doing an in-your-face insult.

"I don't like you!"

But then, that was just the beginning of the adventure.

It seemed that in another world, another universe, someone had his exact same house and his exact same pool—

—and opened a portal to both worlds through the two pools.

"I don't like you!"

And there he met kids that looked just like kids he knew, except they were their exact opposites. There, the Kids Next Door, or the Destructively Nefarious Kids, were evil, and he and the Kids Next Door had to go in and defeat their counterparts.

"I don't like you!"

Not that he had many problems: he defeated the Negative Sector V in less than five minutes. Now that he thought about it, the whole thing seemed rather comical. Numbuh -86 was a complete wimp. Numbuh -1 was a total loser. Numbuh -2 was actually funny but he couldn't nail two boards together. Numbuh 3—

"I don't like you!"

—was the meanest of them all. Numbuh -4, his counterpart, may have been the supreme leader of the NDK, but he was nothing but a weakling and a coward, hiding behind bullies. And Numbuh -5 was the biggest nerd he had ever met.

"I don't like you!"

But eventually, they won, and the portal was closed. On their side, the pool was drained, and on his side, the pool was drained and turned into a dune, just how he liked it.

"I don't like you!"

Ikuk's—Numbuh -3's—words kept repeating in his head, for some reason, and he couldn't sleep because of that.

"I don't like you!"

But why?

In the end, they became friends with the NDK, now that they were free from the tyranny of Yballaw, his counterpart, who was sent to the broccoli mines in his world. He wondered if they would ever meet again.

"I don't like you!"

Now THAT would be a blast. Every one of them would be driving their counterpart crazy: Nigel, being the great leader he is, would be incensed at Legin's submissiveness. Abby would find Ybba as the most annoying nerd as well. Hoagie would probably be on the floor laughing at Eigoah's jokes. And Kuki—

"I don't like you!"

—would have a hard time dealing with someone as mean as Ikuk.

"I don't like you!"

Grrr—why couldn't he get that phrase out of his mind? He KNEW Ikuk hated him.

"I don't like you!"

And she probably hated him even more because of that left hook he gave her.

"I don't like you!"

But it's not as if he could do anything about that. Ikuk hated him, just as Kuki—

GASP

Wally sat up in bed, eyes wide.

"I _don't like_ you!"

And if Ikuk DIDN'T like him, that meant that Kuki—

—that Kuki—

—that Kuki————

—that Kuki————————

"She loikes meh—"

The blonde boy looked at the darkness.

"She loikes meh—"

Gradually, he became soaked with sweat.

"Kuki—loikes—meh—"

Trembling, he got up, and began pacing nervously around his ring. "OH CRUD! She loikes meh—she loikes meh———What da crud am Oi supposed t'do now?" The sudden realisation and the shock of the revelation was enough to make him forget his injuries. And just WHAT was he supposed to do? Tell her he knew now? Spill ALL his secrets toward her?

He looked at the door of his room. Behind it, down the hall, was Kuki's room.

What was he supposed to do now?

Why was he suddenly afraid?

Why—did he feel terrified—and happy—at the same time?

Again, he looked at his door. For some reason, it looked like it was a bamillion miles away.

The curtain parted.

Why she had chosen a curtain instead of a door was something he would ask her later.

And there she was, on her bed, sound asleep, surrounded by a bamillion cruddy Rainbow Monkeys™—

—and she never looked more beautiful.

She looked so peaceful, and even asleep, she was still smiling. Her raven hair partially covered her face, but all that did was make her look more enticing. Her oriental eyes, though closed, held a soul willing to consider him a friend, and now he knew: _more_ than a friend.

Sadly, though, as tough as he was, he still had a bit of cowardice.

He couldn't confront her.

Not now.

Not yet.

But soon. Soon, he'd know when the time was perfect.

For now, though, all he could do to acknowledge that his epiphany was about to make him do something that even HE considered totally crazy.

Slowly, he leaned over the bed.

Slowly, he got closer to her.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

And very gently, he kissed her head.

Looking at her again, he straightened up, and whispered as quietly as he could, "Oi luv ya too, Kooks." And when he said that, a rush of emotion took over him, and he couldn't help but smile.

And blush.

At last, he said it.

_He SAID it._

_Isn't it so cute?_

_He SAID it._

_It's really, really sweet._

_He SAID it._

_Like yummy fresh fruit._

_He SAID it._

_And soon, they'll finally meet………_

He left as quietly as he had arrived, and gently placed the curtain back in place. "Oi luv ya, Kooks," he repeated, and again, his chest overflowed with a happiness he couldn't describe, and he returned to his room as the happiest boy on the face of the Earth.

Once he was safely away, the Japanese girl opened her eyes, looked at her curtain, and replied, "I love you so much, Wally."

She then looked at the date on her alarm clock.

She smiled.

She really loved birthdays.

END TRANSMISSION

THE END / DAS ENDE / DIE EINDE / EINDE / EL FIN / O FIN / LE FIN / IL FINE / SFIRSIT / KONIEC / KONEC / BEIGAS / LOPPU / TELOS / SOF / TAMAT / LIAU LIAU / DANEH O' / WAN-LE / OWARIMASU / SLUTT / SLUT / UXUL


	7. Credits

CREDITS

All characters were created by Tom Warburton.

All characters and all Kids Next Door indicia are © Curious Pictures/Cartoon Network (and used without permission, but it's doubtful that they mind)

Tekken is © Namco

**Covert Casting and Voice Director:**

Collete Sunderman

**Vocal Assault:**

Numbuh 1 is Benjamin Diskin

Numbuh 2 is also Benjamin Diskin

Numbuh 3 is Lauren Tom

Numbuh 4 is Dee Bradley Baker

Numbuh 5 is Cree Summer Franks

Numbuh 86 is Jennifer Hale

Numbuh 362 is Rachel MacFarlane

Numbuh 60 is Matt Levin

Tommy is also Dee Bradley Baker

Heinrich von Marzipan is also Dee Bradley Baker

Nick The Reporter is Jess Harnell

Numbuh 10 is Kim Mai Guest

Chad Dickson is Jeff Harris

and

Cree Lincoln is also Cree Summer Franks

**Composer Commandos:**

Tom Chase

Steve Rucker

Vince Di Cola

Some of the dialogue for "You Call This A Spar?" was originally written by Sylvester Stallone.

No copyright infringement is intended or implied. I did all this for the fun of it.

All of the characters, places, and events portrayed in this fanfic are fictitious. Any resemblance to any real persons, places, or events is unintentional and purely coincidental, except in cases of severe self-insertion, I suppose, but even then the similarities are controlled, hee hee.

**SPECIAL THANKS**

To Daniel "D-Boy" Wheeler, for the Japanese text.

To Numbuh 405, for helping me get the lyrics right.

To Sylvester Stallone.

To Omega-Red9, for starting the whole thing off.

**EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS**

To Tom Warburton, for coming up with such wonderful characters.

Just in case you're wondering, the various ways of saying "The End" are written in English, German, Afrikaans, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, Polish, Russian, Latvian, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Malay, Hokkien, Seneca, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian, Swedish, and Mayan, respectively.

¡Zacatepóngolas!

Until next time, remember:

I

AM

THE

J.A.M. (a.k.a. Numbuh _i_. "Just because I'm imaginary doesn't mean I don't exist")

Good evening.

(WARP!)


End file.
